>> good morning. >> thanks for joining us 4 "11 news today." >> this is a check and a forecast. -- on your forecast. >> we have some thunderstorms this afternoon. there is a front that is bringing the showers and storms. i want to bring your attention to the mid-tennessee valley where you see a lot of intense weather. some more heavy downpours associated with the system that dumped 6 inches of rain in one hour. that is going to our south. the front that is going to give us our showers is to the north and the great lakes. 70's across the board and going up between 87-91.

showers and storms a role in this afternoon. ro ll -- roll in this afternoon. what does traffic look like? >> is on the business side. there is some -- a vehicle fire that has been put out on the harrisburg expressway and there is a problem in road ru -- route 1. a water main break to watch for. that is at falls road. road repairs continue in that area. here is a live in view of traffic. the white marsh area is running smoothly so far. no delays down in howard county. a pretty smooth the ride on the north side on harford road. that is the latest. over to you. >> good morning.

our big story this morning, in just a few hours, two u.s. journalists will be back on u.s. soil. >> email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. -- lisa ling and euna lee will be arriving with former president bill clinton from north korea. nikole killion has more on this story. >> all the journalists are very excited to come home. with bags in hand, they boarded a private jet with former president bill clinton to make a flight back to los angeles where they are anxious to reunite with their family. >> i knew something positive was going to happen. it happened. i am so glad and so thankful. >> lisa ling and euna lee had been detained in north korea for several months that they were

arrested and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering the country. the families asked former president clinton to go to north korea along with al gore. >> he had some signal from the north koreans in advance that the trip would be successful. >> they met with the leader in north korea. there are tensions over the country's nuclear program. this could provide an opening to improve conditions. >the number three and state meda says the talks were wide ranging and exhaustive. -- the north korean state media said the talks were wide ranging and exhaustive. reporting live in washington, nikole killion, wbal-tv. >> thank you. >> a woman was burned when she fell into a conduit excavation

site. she is suing for $1.2 million. she suffered second and third degree burns over 43 percent of her body. it happened in october approved 2005. the fence around it was secured with concrete blocks. >> federal investigators are joining the case of a baltimore county couple charged with child pornography. the police are trying to recognize the victims. they range in ages two-13 years old. the fbi is taking an active role in the investigation. john nicklas and shannon honea are charged. they are former emt's and are charged with selling pornography and being involved in sexual assault against children.

>> we want to identify the victims to get them the help and the resources they need so they can lead to some normal life, because these people have no idea of what they did and the car because these children and to their families into the neighborhood. >> investigators say they are also looking at the possibility that others were abused in states other than maryland and georgia. both remain behind bars this morning. police are investigating a beating in west baltimore that occurred around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. the man was taken to hospital. no word on his condition this morning. police are also investigating a deadly accident involving a bicyclist. it happened on lafayette street. a vehicl-- the bicyclist got can the back wheels of a truck when

it turned. >> gov. martin o'malley announced plans yesterday about the white rail. our reporter has more -- on the light rail. our reporter has more. >> he says expansion for the light rail is good for maryland and future generations. he is seeking federal funding to expand the light rail. he wants to build a purple line and a red line which would run from the woodlawn area to the johns hopkins bayview medical campus in east baltimore. the red line is supported by the dinkins administration, the business community, and congressman elijah cummings. not everyone supports the plan. some say the red man -- redline could cause delays and possible collision. >> this is not a sound move by

our governor. he just put a lot of lives in danger. >> when everybody is not going to like the plan. >> the governor says the red line will improve housing values. coming up for you, why canton residents are concerned and where the light rail would go in woodlawn. reporting live, wbal-tv. >> that brings us to our watercooler question of the day. what do you think of the city's red line light rail plan? email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> later today, attorneys for mayor sheila dixon will be in the city court. it will file a motion asking the judge to quash the subpoenas in the case against a. last week they recharge the mayor some charges. baltimore city police say they need to let a thousand dollars to keep their mounted police

patrol operating. they help private donations will help them reach their goal by december. gov. martin o'malley hopes to find a way to keep them on the streets. >> these are really tough times. there is not a county executive or mayor or governor in the country who is not faced with a lot of really difficult decisions. and all we can find some way to maintain the police mounted unit in the city. it is an important tradition and is important for a loss safety. >> the unit has been a part of the baltimore city police apartment for several years and is the oldest continuously running mounted horse police unit in the country. if you want to help, go to our web site at copper wbaltv.com. >> 71 degrees. coming up, an unusual issue that is under investigation. >> i was covering my ears because the shots were so loud. >> a routine visit to the gym

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>> good morning. we have a friend coming in. we have a good chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms late this afternoon and overnight tonight. the clouds will be thickening in the afternoon. more on your seven-day forecast coming up in a bit. >> thank you. at least four people were killed in a shooting at a gym in pittsburgh. a gunman walked into the l.a. fitness in bridgeville and opened fire. least 10 other people were injured. the gunmen turned the gun on himself.

police say they still have no motive for the attack. >> several officials are investigating and garment always companies. the u.s. attorneys -- environmental companies. the u.s. attorneys are investigating the companies because the two workers died after ingesting some pollutants. they are looking at organic waste material. a fuel storage facility in michigan sent oil barrels shooting in the air yesterday. residents within 1 mile radius had to get to a safe area. coming up, a police report estimate how much people are willing to pay raising a baby in coming years. >> if you have spent hours trying to get through to

customer service, there is a faster way to get straight to management. >> checking on your morning commute, it is busy. a water main break.

>> did you get over the whole state thing yesterday? are you now educated? >> yes. >> he is always good for a history lesson.

>> he's got it covered. >> let's see what is going on. southbound on the positive harrisburg expressway , we had a fire on the road. the fire is out. it was caused from the vehicle. watch for the accident on the side as you midway through the express. route 1, bellinger road and the nottingham area, some recent closures due to an accident there. one is blot on the parkway near falls road due to a water main break. besides that, everything else is looking good. the drive times are up to speed. south on i-95 is in a minute ride. not bad at all down towards fort mchenry. this is beyond the scene of the earlier vehicle fire.

here is a live view of the fort mchenry where we are looking at a nice ride in both directions. that is the latest. let's get the latest on the buses and trains. >> i do not know about escape keys. i am sorry about that. it was a little bit before my time. we are looking at a good commute on the train this morning. no delays on the brunswick lines. the metro subway is also on time. the water main break at northern parkway and false, that is diverting the 27 and 44 buses there. the 21 best diverting at pennsylvania which is water main break related. now back to sandra shaw. >> we are looking at hd doppler this morning and a lot of activity is going on in the mississippi valley.

6 inches of rain in legal kentucky yesterday. incredible amounts of flash flooding going on. we have been escaping from that. we get a high-pressure the protected us from that. to our north, there is a front moving in our direction. a good chance of scattered showers and storms but this afternoon. a steamy start, 77 degrees downtown. 82 degrees in ocean city. the reason is warmer for the start of the day because of a moderating influence of its proximity to the atlantic ocean. it does not have the highs and lows as the inland. a good chance of showers and storms this afternoon. in baltimore, partly sunny this morning. the clouds of thick in and around noon time and continue throughout the afternoon bringing you about a 60% shot of

scattered showers and storms, some of which could be strong. the high as 91 degrees. the front will get from here over night to night. the surf temperature is comfortable at 74 degrees. with the showers and storms, not the best beach days. waves are 1 foot or less. water temperatures 82 degrees across the board. we have been hot lately. the record high was 104 set in 1930. the record low 52 degrees in 1951. 65 degrees is where we should be for an average overnight lows. a good chance of showers and storms tonight. up to 74 degrees. the front will push for all right along.

there may be some showers tomorrow morning. that would be mainly to the east or south of the city. partly cloudy at 84 degrees. 84 degrees on friday. 89 degrees on saturday. 95 degrees on sunday. it could be the hottest day of the summer. >> in this morning's "consumer alert", problems getting through to its consumer rep could take hours if it happens at all. some people are complaining and twitter. it allows you to post messages and makes complaint easily viewable to the management at the company. they do not want bad the back so they are more likely to take care of the problem. middle-income families with babies born last year can expect to pay $221,000 to raise the little ones in the next 17 years. the report issued each year from

the u.s. department of our culture is a valuable resource for those determining child- support guidelines and payments. >> that sounds so low. cash for clunkers make it a big boost to the economy. we have more on this and the rest of the business news in the business report from bloomberg. >> a good wednesday morning, everybody. it could boost the economy according to the car makers. cash for clunkers may be having a positive impact on the economy. it may help the economy emerged from the worst post-war recession. that is what a sales analyst at general motors and an economist at for telling bloomberg news. they also say if the senate extends cash for clunkers by $2 billion, the program could boost third quarter gdp by half a

percentage point. you may not be able to find the car you want if the program is extended. after the big sales surge in july, ford is running low on the fourth focus, the two top cars of the cash for clunkers program. it shut down all plants while reorganizing in bankruptcy court this summer. stock futures indicating a slightly lower open this morning. stock rose for a fourth time yesterday showing an estimated rise in pending home sales. that is business news. i am reporting for wbal-tv. back over to you. >> we will see you back here at 6:15 for your next report. >> we will get another look at your morning commute traffic an. >> coming up in sports, another

rookie makes his debut for the orioles. we will show you the highlights and how he did next in sports. >> do not forget to e-mail us your response to the watercooler question of the what do you think of the city's red line light rail plan? email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

>> good morning, everybody. brain matusz made his first big- league start was 9. he set a major-league record, the first time to have five rookies in a season. he was expected to spend a whole year in the minors. they ran out of pitchers. he struck out of five tigers and gave up only one run. some great defense as well.

bases loaded in the second and third. brain matusz did well. three hits and three rbi's. 3-1 orioles on top. nick market is provided some extra fireworks delivering a home run. -- nick markakis provided some extra fireworks delivering a home run. the orioles win with the obligatory shaving cream and piatt in the face. brain matusz doesn't for the orioles and gets a win. -- does it for the orioles and get a win. >> learning water survival skills. tonight, our reporter expose as the controversy over this issue. >> the video can be difficult to watch. she is only nine months old, but

her mother believes she is learning a lesson that can save her life if she accidentally fallston the water. >> this is a precaution. if something happens, she will know what to do. >> the class is for children as young as six months old. some doctors do not think it is a good idea. >> from a public health perspective, it is sending the wrong message. >> tonight at 11, are intent to young to learn water survival skills? -- are in deinfants too young to learn water survival skills? >> interesting. coming up in the next step hour on "11 news today"

>> details on a redline our next. >> details on why this afternoon maybe rainy coming up. >> another problem, a vehicle fire in another area. we will update you on that and

they have alzheimer's and heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and they've heard that biomedical research offers hope -- that it could control, maybe even cure, their disease. senator barbara mikulski understands the importance of innovative biomedical research for patients, their families, and our economy here in maryland. call senator mikulski today. tell her thanks for protecting the promise of biomedical research and the maryland jobs it provides.